Sperm Competition: Discrimination Isn't Always Bad
نویسندگان
چکیده
Observing sperm in competition has been limited by our ability to discriminate between males' sperm. Recent work has overcome this obstacle, while another study reports on seminal fluid with very specific spermicidal activity, suggesting discrimination is easy for some.
منابع مشابه
Sperm competition games: optimal sperm allocation in response to the size of competing ejaculates.
Sperm competition theory predicts that when males are certain of sperm competition, they should decrease sperm investment in matings with an increasing number of competing ejaculates. How males should allocate sperm when competing with differently sized ejaculates, however, has not yet been examined. Here, we report the outcomes of two models assuming variation in males' sperm reserves and male...
متن کاملReproductive-tactic-specific variation in sperm swimming speeds in a shell-brooding cichlid.
Theory predicts that males experiencing elevated levels of sperm competition will invest more in gonads and produce faster-swimming sperm. Although there is ample evidence in support of the first prediction, few studies have examined sperm swimming speed in relation to sperm competition. In this study, we tested these predictions from sperm competition theory by examining sperm characteristics ...
متن کاملSize isn't everything
I n his second major book, The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex, Charles Darwin showed that when animals compete for mates, sexual selection can drive many types of evolutionary change (Darwin, 1871). However, he did not notice that this competition continued even after animals had finished mating. Sperm competition was only described a century later when groundbreaking work show...
متن کاملCompetition in Healthcare: Good, Bad or Ugly?
The role of competition in healthcare is much debated. Despite a wealth of international experience in relation to competition, evidence is mixed and contested and the debate about the potential role for competition is often polarised. This paper considers briefly some of the reasons for this, focusing on what is meant by “competition in healthcare” and why it is more valuable to think about th...
متن کاملThe evolutionary ecology of testicular function: size isn't everything.
Larger testes are considered the quintessential adaptation to sperm competition. However, the strong focus on testis size in evolutionary research risks ignoring other potentially adaptive features of testicular function, many of which will also be shaped by post-mating sexual selection. Here we advocate a more integrated research programme that simultaneously takes into account the development...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید
ثبت ناماگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید
ورودعنوان ژورنال:
- Current Biology
دوره 20 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2010